Hope 2016 has been treating you and your family well! 2015 was the best year yet for us and we cannot wait to see what 2016 will bring. And it is already going by too quickly as Miss Bailey is now 9 months old! It doesn't seem possible, but we couldn't be more blessed.
Bailey Jayne - 9 Months Old
Bailey weighs in at 18 lbs. 9 oz. and is 26-1/4" long. We have our 9 month appointment tomorrow and will have more shots...combine that with our teething pain, and Friday may be a little rough for us.
Bailey in her favorite chair
Now that Bailey is mobile, chasing her around the house is a full time job (and I am lucky enough to be the one to do it). Her favorite things to do include cruising around the furniture to play with Tequila, crawling as fast as she can to get to her big brother, trying to sneak away and get into Tequila's food and water dish, standing up to watch her brother through the back door, playing with her brother's toys...are you sensing a theme? Yes, she adores her big brother and wants to be with him all the time...luckily Tequila has been really patient and sweet with her. Bailey also loves to go to the Community Center for walks in the Tula and swimming and playing at the pool. Even on our more clingy days, she can pop into the water sling and we can walk the lazy river until she is ready to play or falls asleep. She loves to shake her booty and get down to the beats of Beyonce, Rhianna, Disney and more. She has even tried her hand at playing her little piano, drumming out the beats on the pots and pans and singing (or yelling) along to her favorite tunes. And since the weather has been a little too cold to play outdoors, her favorite activity is jumping into her SmarTrike and having Daddy push her around the house...we've even had a few Midnight Train to Georgia rides with all the lights out! She is a little obsessed!
We are so close to walking too...we have been standing on our own for a few seconds at a time...only caught one on camera...
We kicked off the New Year in style with Grandma and Grandpa over for some homemade pasta and champagne. For the last couple of years, we have skipped the big parties and opted for a more low key evening of cooking, celebrating and looking back at the past year. With the new pasta attachments my awesome hubby got us for Christmas, we spent the evening creating in the kitchen while Bailey showed off all her new toys to Grandma and Grandpa and watched the college football playoffs. Even Tequila got in on the fun!
Bailey's first New Year celebration
Trying to get a family photo with everyone
Still trying
Close enough...Happy New Year!
Having our own Rockin' New Year's Eve celebration...Bailey style
January is always a fun month for us because we get to celebrate some of our favorite Birthdays! Uncle Mat's Birthday is the 13th, Grandpa Reifschneider is the 19th and Daddy's is the 27th which means a lot of cake and parties to celebrate! We went to Dave & Buster's for Uncle Mat, had a BBQ dinner for Grandpa and had multiple parties for Brian including a surprise visit from Uncle Brad and Uncle Tate, a surprise afternoon at Top Golf with several of our good friends, a couple brunches and of course, cake! Special thanks to everyone that helped surprise Brian early for his big day, it was a lot of fun!
Celebrating Uncle Mat's Birthday with a stroll around the block
Surprise early Birthday party for my love at TopGolf!
The boys are back in town!
What a good looking group!
Happy Birthday Grandpa! I love this picture
She stayed up to be the first to give Daddy a Birthday hug
And a pinch for good luck
We surprised Daddy at work
It was too much fun
Bailey's first snow! This winter has been a little more mild than in the past, but luckily we had a couple days of snow for Miss Bailey to play with. She wasn't too excited about the snow suit because it was a bit restrictive, but when we brought a little snow inside, she loved playing with it. She did love watching Tequila and her Daddy playing in it and cleaning it up!
What is this white stuff?
Where's Tequila
Tequila getting ready to sneak up on Bailey
Watching our big bro eat the snow
Watching Tequila run around and jump in the snow
Cheese
Snow's much more fun when we can play with it
Watching Daddy clean up the icicles
Hi Daddy
Family fun in the snow
We love our Daddy
Much more fun in Daddy's arms
Tequila giving Bailey kisses in the snow
Giving Daddy snow kisses
Cutie patooties
Models
Sweet teething baby. The last few weeks have been a little sleep deprived because teething has been hitting us full force. Luckily the snuggles are abundant and babywearing has been a lifesaver. We even invested in a new wrap (that's almost here!) and a Tula to make it a little easier to get around.
Sweet teething baby
Daddy even got in on the snuggles
We only like to sleep in Mommy's arms
Extra snuggles for days
Love my Solly wrap
Such a sweet teething baby girl
I love her smile
Babywearing for the win!
All we do is play, play, play no matter what! Whether it's trying out a new sensory activity, rolling around in the SmarTrike or just hanging out in the ball pit, we make time everyday for play and love to try out new activities. Some are messy - like playing with oats and finger paint, some are exhausting - SmarTrike runs and crawl races, but we have so much fun exploring with Bailey and watching her grow and learn. We couldn't ask for a more playful and silly girl!
Our new play area
You're doing it wrong
We love this car
Baby booty in jeans...so funny
Peek-a-boo
Make sure to get my good side
We love to rock
Playing with our animals
Drum solo
What do you need Mom...
Rolling with the ladies
When it's too cold to go out, we play mini pool inside
Whoops...you caught me
Serious about our music
We love music
Getting our walk on
Daily squats
Putting our feet up
I need a ride right now
Ball pit fun
Finger painting is messy, but fun
Concentrating hard
One sheet wasn't enough
Let me see how this tastes (it's greek yogurt...don't get crazy)
Sick
Let me try again
If I lick just a little bit
Umm...nope
We made a big mess
Time to clean up
I'm a mess
Even with a finger paint mustache, I'm cute
Oats + water = gooey fun
The bin was holding us back
Of course I tasted it...not a fan
Having a lot of fun squishing the oats
Practicing our posture
We expect these rides daily now
She really wanted to be in the walker
Very serious about our pony rides
The art of distraction. Now that we are mobile, we like to test our boundaries as much as we can. Bailey is learning how to be sneaky, when to turn up the chase and how to distract us with her cuteness while doing things she is not supposed to. She loves to try and get to the fireplace any chance she gets, race to Tequila's dishes and try to turn over the water bowl before we can reach her and to climb up the stools in the kitchen. She definitely knows what "no" means but as soon as you look away, she gets right back to it (with a huge smile on her face, none the less). This can only mean we are in for it as she gets older...and with that cute face, you can't stay mad for long!
What do you mean I can't stand on the chair...see, I can!
This is her "I'm not about to do something I'm not supposed to face"
"What, I'm into DIY"
"Stop folding laundry, I need attention!"
"It may be late, but I'm ready to party"
"I'm not going to get close to the fireplace....sike!"
"I'm going to take my walker for a walk"
"Just looking for my brother"
Brotherly love. Bailey is absolutely fascinated by her big brother and tries to get close to him (and his food) any chance she gets. Luckily he has a lot of patience with her and quick on his feet when he needs to be.
Telling Tequila all about our day
Cuddle bug
Commiserating over the funny outfits Mom makes us wear
Bailey loves reading to her big bro
She loves him so much
Bailey wears him out
He's a very patient big brother
Tequila follows the train
Rolling in style
Bailey loves to show off her new talents...especially in front of a camera. She is quite a ham (like her Daddy) and loves to talk, get moving and laugh at herself.
She had a lot to say at lunch the other day.
Look what Grandma taught us to do...
We think we are really funny when we make a mess with our food.
We're hilarious
There's a lot going on up there
We are pretty proud of our mess
Showing off
And we love to brush our teeth every night...
It's all about preventative care
We take our teeth brushing super serious
Soaking up the sun! In January, if the weather warms up a bit you have to take full advantage. Bailey loves being outside and every chance she gets to ride her SmarTrike around she takes it. If it's a little too brisk, I toss her in the Tula, we bundle up and go. Tequila has really enjoyed all the extra walks!
Bundled up for our walk in the snow
Tried getting a pic of all 3 of us
Taking our SmartTrike out for a stroll with Daddy
Going for a ride to the park with Uncle Mat, Grandma, Tequila and Callie
Playing on the playground
Having fun with Grandma
Artsy pic
Going down the slide with Grandma
We love going to the park with our big bro
Blue steel
The Tula is so cozy we fell asleep on the walk
All that hair! Our hair is getting so long, we are finding creative new ways of keeping our hair out of our face. We even got it in our first ponytail!
Side part with a flower barrette
Woke up like this
How cute is that ponytail
She looks like a little girl...tear
I love this face
Slicked back
So cute
Cheering on the home team! We had a pretty big month in sports at our house, the Chiefs won their first playoff game in 22 years, the NDSU Bison won their 5th National FCS Championship and the Jayhawks are playing so great basketball (well, sort of). Bailey is quite the sports fan too and loves watching the games with us!
Chiefs fan like her Daddy
Mommy's little Jayhawk
Go Bison!
And we can't complete the blog without some sweet sleepy pics...
Pre NYE Midnight nap
Such a sweet girl
A bit of a bed hog
It's exhausting cheering on the Chiefs
Our Herbal Essence pose
Relaxing on Dad
Swimming wears us out
Sweet baby
This pose cracks me up
And here are a few more of our favorite pics from this past month.
My little hoodlum
Sweet Baby Jay
Being silly
After some hard swimming
Toweling off
Sweet baby girl
Love those baby blues
Sweetheart
Such a curious girl
Just cruising
I love my Daddy!
Getting ready to start baking a cake for Daddy!
Sweet kisses
Had to get dressed up for Daddy's Birthday
I love it!
Our little sailor
We are so blessed to have this little girl to chase around and snuggle with everyday. It's been such an exciting journey and we can't wait to see what is next to come! Until next month...
XOXO,
Sara, Brian, Bailey and Tequila
Here are a couple more pics from today!
She has too much fun
I love this smile
It's getting a little more difficult to take these pics with our little daredevil
